Posts tagged “natural”

Posted on April 5th, 2018

Since humans and horses first shared the same land, humans have pondered how to control horses. Anyone working with a one or two thousand pound animal has an interest in understanding, prediction and control. Many equestrians take lessons for years in an attempt to better control the horse, and we are knee-deep in books, clinics, DVDs, magazines and tips from others who own horses. The interactions between humans and horses have not likely changed since these two species first met. Domestication has produced horses that are less fearful and easier to handle, but a horse’s hopes and dreams, delights and concerns, are likely the very same as 10,000 years ago. Horses did little to domesticate humans, who likely see them the same way as…

Posted on August 12th, 2016

Mosquitoes cause more human suffering than any other organism — over one million people worldwide die yearly from mosquito-borne diseases such as Chikungunya, West Nile, Dengue, Yellow Fever, and Zika[1. “Mosquito-Borne Diseases“. American Mosquito Control Association.]. Controlling the population of these mosquitoes is critical to controlling the spread of the viruses they transmit. Unfortunately, popular control methods have not stopped the spread of these mosquitoes. Insecticides and larvicides accumulate in the environment, always kill more than the intended species, and may be toxic to humans. In addition, there is evidence that mosquitoes are becoming resistant to the insecticides![2. See the many papers at Google Scholar.] Mosquito traps using carbon dioxide or pheromones as a lure are expensive to purchase and operate. And biological control…

Posted on August 12th, 2016

Note: This text would was used in a patent application filed in early April, 2016, but the Patent and Trademark Office has let us down. Lobbyists and Congress weakened patent protections with the America Invents Act, and patent trolls from big business simply litigate with individual inventors until they get what they want[1. Eden, Scott. “The Greatest American Invention”. Popular Mechanics, July/August 2016 p. 93-99]. At this writing, the PTO averages 16.1 months before it takes the first action on a patent application, and 25.7 months to process the average application. Over 500,000 patent applications are now awaiting examination[2. Patents Data at a Glance. USPTO.]. Abstract The present invention lures male mosquitoes of a target species with a sound generator that mimics the sound of…

Posted on February 17th, 2016

Among the most remarkable animal stories are those involving friendships where we might not expect them. A friendship between man and dog is not surprising — after all, a dog is man’s best friend. Nor is it surprising to find a friendship between two dogs — or two men. We expect intraspecies friendships. But then we don’t. A friendship between two fish would surprise us, or between two invertebrates, two amphibians, or two reptiles. And we are surprised when we come upon apparent friendships between two very different species, such as cat and bird or duck and owl. In this piece, I want to explore my own questions about animal friendships. What is friendship? Friendship between two people can involve many conditions, such as…

Posted on April 27th, 2012

When I was a fourth grader, we had a cat. Dad made Tiger a little hanging door in a basement window, like a dog door, and she could come and go as she pleased. Tiger would go out in the morning, and she would play in our backyard. One day, my parents told me that our neighbors were mad at us because Tiger was killing their chickens. This was obviously not true – Tiger wouldn’t do that, and besides, the chickens were bigger than her. And my parents didn’t like those neighbors anyway. Innocent Tiger continued to roam. One night, I heard Tiger screaming in the basement. I was too young for bravery, and got into bed with my mom, who assured me that…

Posted on April 17th, 2012

When I was a little boy, my mom took me and my little brothers to a lake like this, to “feed the ducks”. This was long ago, when feeding the ducks was a good idea. The trips to the lake were the highlight of the week in the summer, and we’d been saving “stale” bread all week for the adventure. Sometimes we stopped at the one and only Entenmann’s store, to buy day-old bread to supplement our stash. Last year, my mom died at Sunrise, down at the end of this lake. I realize now that she taught me a love of animals, and the importance of being kind to animals with those simple visits to the lake. The lake, its ducks, swans, and…

Posted on April 14th, 2012

“Don’t feed the animals” is common wisdom. This advice is so often repeated that we could think it must be good advice. You can get the advice from a park ranger, from a sign at a pond, from your next door neighbor. The advice is so widely held that surely it must be true. But a little thought leads us to a different conclusion. Common Arguments Against Feeding We are encouraged to “feed the birds”. However, birds are animals, so the advice must mean, “don’t feed the mammals”. What’s wrong with mammals? What could possibly be the risk in feeding them? Here are some “risks” that I’ve heard of. You will create a dependence. Yes, we will. During a hard winter, a mammal you…